


Bleeding dust in your wake

by ParadoxPotentia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, AU!Alphys is all-but a terminator, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Canon Typical Violence, Chara is a bit evil, Chara tells stories in second person, Evil pacifist run, Gen, Hostage Situations, May be rearranged when i notice i forgot some formatting, Radio Napstablook, Robot Napstablook, Some discrepancies with au canon, Temmie has dubious intent, Undyne isn't scared to get her hands dirty, chara doesn't believe in significant detail, frisk has trust issues, probably neutral route, skipped details
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:24:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5309264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadoxPotentia/pseuds/ParadoxPotentia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You fall to the underground. Thankfully, you have an angel to guide you through safely. They're a little cynical, though far less than you.<br/><em>After so long, you finally have someone to care for again, after your old family rejected your aid. This time, you'll only worry about them.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling down through snow

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Underswap AU blog](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/159431) by Underswap. 



> Any tips on how to write the characters are appreciated.Telling me how i'm doing this wrong is appreciated. Telling me how i'm doing this right is appreciated assuming you're honest- Otherwise, tell me i'm doing it wrong, that'd be more useful.

It's easy to hurt. You knew this, know this, and so did they. The angel, as you refered to your guide down here. For them, everything hurts them, and nothing helps. They couldn't bear to watch anyone bleed. At least, that's how they used to be. 

That's a lie. They were, are, all-too-willing to throw away lives of those they hate, to protect those they love. They didn't ask first, and they felt foolish for that. That's what they regret. But they'd kill for you, they promise. They might need to, they add.

 _'They won't trust you.'_ They whispered, _'Monsters are just as bad as Humans. It's us against the world. Do everything it takes to survive, okay?'_

You didn't know if you would. You didn't care. It's always been easy for you to hurt people, because they hurt you first. So that's what you chose, before. If they could hurt you, you'd hurt them. Now, though... you didn't know what you're going to do.

\---

The first individual you ran into was Temmie. It spoke unevenly, with an unnatural voice, half-cutesy and half-static. _'like a badly done horror movie'_ the angel suggests. You wonder how it knows about horror movies, for an instant.

It spoke, every other sentence unsettlingly broken, "hOI, I'm tEMMIE. Are you new to the underground? WeLL, SOMEone haz to HARVEzT your SOUL, and it'll have to be me!"

You scowled, pulling out the knife. It may have been so rusty that it was little more than a ready-made tetnus shot, but it'd work perfectly well for stabbing. Even if you died, it would probably get pretty sick from the wound, anyways, you hoped. Token victories, spitting in the face of inevitability.

Then Temmie began choughing, speaking even as it hacks up single projectiles, "Tese r BULLETS. You'd better dodge, or they'll damage your soul. Wen ur soul is hurt badly enuf, you'll DIE."

The fight continued in this vein for some time, Temmie telling you what to do even while trying to kill you. The angel gave you additional guidance on how to navigate the fight, while the temmie's bullets accelerated and increased in magnitude.

You were starting to get nervous, when someone showed up to rescue you.

\---

Asgore drove off temmie with a few swift swipes of his spear. You were breifly nervous about his intent, before you remembered: If he could beat temmie that easily, there was no way you could beat him.

He taught you every step of the way, being careful to not be too overbearing, but watching from a distance, always ready to save you if you need it.

You were scowling as you trek through the ruins. The small fry kept getting in your way. _If you killed them, you looted their corpses for their belongings_ You didn't kill any, that'd be too easy. You breifly wondered if he's sending them at you, with orders not to kill you, before deciding probably not. It seemed like someone really wanted your soul. Still, it was easy enough to deal with them.

The angel whispered something you can't quite hear.

 

Eventually, he left you with food, water, and directions to get to his house. He has to make something, he said.

When you got there, he spoke honestly with you, over tea.

'The ruins are the old palace, from when the humans sealed the monsters underground. The queen wants to harvest seven human souls, so she can break the barrier. You're the seventh human. He has no intention of letting you leave the ruins until you can beat him with at least two health left, because if you can't do that, there's no way you can survive the royal guard. Once you leave the ruins, you will never be able to return. Every one of your predecessors has died, and you can stay here with him as long as you desire, if that is okay with you. It's not safe here, but it's safer, and you've already seen the worst the ruins has to offer.'

Asgore is tall and stern, but he looked at you with obvious care, trust and affection. You hoped he'll be fine if you die. _You won't die._ But you couldn't stay here. Not with him. Sooner or later, everyone gets tired of you, so you need to leave while you can still care about them, while you don't just want to watch everthing bleed. That's how you thought, when making the decision.

You declines. You fought him. You spent time together. You fought him again. You learnt to make tea. You fought him another time, despite the futility of it all.

Eventually, you won.

He cried a little, and made sure you had plenty of stuff before sending you out.

\---

Once you were out, you arrived at snowdin. You ran into a few more small fry, and dealt with them.

On the bridge in, you got cut off by a skellton, tall and imposing. He stuck out his hand, "I'm papyrus. Who're you?"

_You scowled a little. 'You don't trust him.'_

You stuck out your hand, and muttered chara.

He grined, "Welcome to snowdin, chara! That's a great name! Now, the queen says we're supposed to kill any humans and harvest your souls, since we can't open up the barrier without seven souls, but I trust you can open the barrier without having to die. Besides, fighting with you would hurt too much. Watch out for my brother Sans, though. He wants to get into the royal guard, so he's convinced he needs to catch you."

You nodded.

"Well, that's mostly it. just one word of advice. If you're thinking about fighting my brother... don't. He's the strongest person I know. Now, I have to go to my post. See you later!"

\---

Sans was, is, cheerful and always smiling. He loved, loves lame puns, and testing your strength with borrowed robots, and puzzles. He ambushed you partway through fights with the actual members of the guard and used shortcuts to prevent you from escaping or evading his traps. To him, this is a game, and he was winning.

When you finally made it through everything he had to throw at you, he fought you personally, one on one.

The way his demeanor changes is terrifying. In an instant, he's scowling and hurling you everywhere, bringing bones stampeding across the screen, hurling you into walls and worse. He cheats too, dodging strikes and sending absurd numbers of projectiles at you.

For an instant, you worried that you're going to die. _'You did, but you won't let that be the end.'_ You don't. The battle is long and painful, though, and you suspect that if he had pushed his advantage, you would have died. It was down to the line, and by the end of the fight you're almost out of the food Asgore sent you. You decides to hold onto the tea leaves, but everything else gets eaten.

After that, Sans decided you'll spar together, and you comply. _'It's worth learning to fight well anyways.'_ It was rapid and bloody and you both learned a lot from the other. After a rematch, fast and furious, if with more caution, you chatted over badly made hot-dogs and delicious burnt fries. You find yourself grinning, and consider staying, before deciding it's not worth it.

Sans loves his brother, but he's worried about him. Papyrus had been vanishing for long periods of time, and rotates posts without rhyme or reason, as far as Sans can tell. He's glad to take him places, but...

Papyrus isn't very strong. He's more durable than sans, sure, but he isn't willing to kill anyone. Even if he were, Papyrus didn't have that many tricks up his sleeve.

There was no way he'd survive that long if someone really wanted to hurt him.

You suspected that if you killed Papyrus, Sans would try to kill you. _'He'd fail, but he'd try.'_ You decided you won't. If nothing else, you didn't want to die, and you wanted, still want, to face Sans again, and again, and again, until you can easily beat him without even trying. 

He wasn't up for that today. He was too tired. To be honest, you were too, so when he suggested you stay the night, you did. You'll keep moving tommorow.


	2. Plummeting through oceans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed this chapter- alphys went down to easily, and it seems like she'd be one of the real wall-blockers in pacifist. IMO, pacifist is going to have the hardest bosses for chara, like how genocide has the worst for frisk. Napstablook is going to be _**fun!** _

_You dreamed of sacrifices and blood, of buttercups and asgore. Of a plan to free the monsters, to destroy humanity, to protect the people you love. Of death and betrayal and a shattering._

Then you dreamed of … father. Not dad. Not anything affectionate, only father. You wonder if they’ve found him yet. He’d still be alive, either way.

 _Humans are nothing but evil, and anyone who would protect them isn’t a good person._  
Humans are nothing but evil, but evil can do good things.  
\---  
In the morning, you shared breakfast with Sans and papyrus. The pair of them acted like siblings, in the more favorable incarnations you’ve seen in books and movies. _They’d both die for each other._ The food is badly made and you suspected it would make you sick, especially when the secret ingredient is ketchup. In the burrito, in the milk, in the plate. But… you’ve been used to not having food at all, only eating when you really need to avoid distractions from hunger, and while this wasn’t perfect, wasn’t even good, it’s way better than nothing. It didn’t even make you vomit, like some of the bad days’ food did, when you got really desperate. 

You finished eating, chated for a little more, and exchanged phone numbers. Then you said goodbye to sans, and head out. You enjoyed his company, but you didn’t want to wear out your welcome. He told you about Alphys, head of the royal guard, and how she’s one of the most _'DETERMINED'_ monsters he’s ever met. His said determined like a lower-case word, but you can tell it’s important. You don’t quite know how, but the word _'DETERMINED'_ feels… important, if in a sentimental way. 

\---

You still had more stuff to do in snowdin. You go checked out the stores, buying more food so you can eat or drink when you’re in a pinch again. You hunted down an obscure pair of monsters, and fight them both. You won easily, but while that’s disappointing, it’s fine. They did have new things to show you, and you learned from it. Unlike Sans, you don’t think you’ll want to fight them again. One of them couldn’t even hurt you.

As you were heading out, you run into Papyrus. He grinned, “My brother really enjoyed hanging out with you. I know you’ve probably got places to be, things to do, but… keep in touch with him, alright?”

You nodded. _You still didn’t trust Papyrus,_ 'but you do intend to keep contact with your friend.' 

“Anyways, I was heading to Muffet’s. If you want, you could come with me. The food’s good, and I’ll treat. My thanks for humoring my brother- whether you were or not.”  
_You didn’t really want to spend any more time with papyrus than you have to._ He unnerved you somehow. But, good food you don’t have to pay for made it a really tempting offer, especially when you knew Papyrus is less dangerous than a log. _If he was so safe, why did he feel so dangerous?_ You supposed it is possible that Papyrus isn’t as harmless as sans thought- feared, really. You decided that you could handle it though.

You nodded. You didn’t trust your voice to not betray how much Papyrus _'terrified you.'_ Still, free food outweighs meaningless fear.

He took you by the hand and you walk there. He babbled words in a comforting flow of blather.

_'That was a rude way of putting it.'_ You didn’t even like him, why are you defending him against your insults?

Muffet’s was, is, an odd café, a mixture of tasteful design and gaudy spider patterns. You liked spiders, but this was just excessive, though less so than affixing the word spider in every item’s name. Which she also did. Spider cider, Spider muffins, Spider doughnuts, Spider BLTs, Spider Subs. She even refered to papyrus as a VIS customer, rather than a VIP or VIM.

You knew it was partially justified by the fact that she’s a spider monster, but still. It was excessive. Papyrus guided you to a table, pulling out a seat for you, before taking his own. You ordered first, and papyrus follows. He looked faintly amused, though you didn’t know why.

He talked about his brother for a bit, while you devour your meal. 'Sans is good friends with Alphys, and really talented too. The reason he’s not in the royal guard is because he’s not… durable. No matter how many times he asked, she offered the same reason. He could fight just about anyone to a standstill, but if they land a single hit, he’d die. That’s not optimal for a royal guard. If a genocidal human comes down, that’d be the death of him.' There’d be no way he’d survive, much less claim their soul. Still, he’s managed to befriend her, even if he can’t enter the guard.

He then laughed, “I’m glad you get along with him. I need to get to work, though. See you later.” 

He walked out. He had paid, thankfully. You headed out after him, after packing up the leftover food in a doggie bag.

You waved to the royal guard on your way out.

\---

Waterfall is a cool place, both literally and metaphorically. It was warmer than snowdin, at least, even if it isn't not warm.

You laughed at the echo flowers, and shouted in bad words into a few. 

You dealt with another batch of monsters attacking you. They were tougher than the last batch… but still weak.

The only one you really wanted to fight with, this absurdly huge duck, wouldn’t even acknowledge you as an enemy no matter how hard you try to stab it.

You were sulking about that as you progressed.

\---

Then you ran into Alphys. She spoke to you for a while, something about how the entire canine royal guard has gone rouge, and an over-dramatic rendition of the story Asgore told you. Then she attacked.

Alphys is tough. She may be no Sans in accuracy, but her hits count so much more, and like sans’ blue attack, she reduced your options. You had to hurl yourself between edges throughout the fight, dodging axes and robots. You needed to jump far too often, or you’d get killed.

It was a long fight until you managed to destroy her axe. She snarled, and tried to keep fighting, but you fled, now that she couldn’t hurl the axe into your back as you try to escape. You didn't think she would, but you knew she could've, and chose not to risk it.

She followed. You kept running, hoping to get to hotland. She was not just going to give up, but turning back wasn’t an option. It was not going to save you.

She chased you until you were almost there. You untied a bridge, dropping her into the freezing water below. She swam out. That was rather absurd, as she was wearing full plate armour. She cornered you again, and as you neared hotlands, you saw it...A wall. It looked like a temporary barricade, but there was no way through. Your only choice was to fight. You did. Maybe you killed her, maybe you held true to your principles of non-violence. It doesn't matter. You _'woke up'_ in snowdin, before you entered waterfall. You groaned. This wasn't going to be one of the fun challenges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alphys is far more willing to cheat than undyne, and well begun is half-won. She knows better than to run into snowdin, too.


	3. Falling from the abyss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the ending of the last chapter was changed. I'm pretty sure alphys is OOC to some degree, even within the AU, so if anyone can point to the problems, specifically, as well as how they should be, that would be helpful.
> 
> Chara's paying more attention, now. They always do after a death. After all, they have the strength of a x year old, where x

You were walking through snowdin when the vision hits. You’ve been having them for a while, since before you fell. If you would die, you discover it was all some hallucination. You didn’t know what they meant, but you knew they give valid data, so with enough of them, you’d always escape death.

Alphys seemed to be a problem. You could just kill her, but that would be giving up. So, what else could you do?

Pre-made pit trap?

**You leaned back, catching a breath. You’d almost fallen in. You turned to walk away. You didn’t even see her hit you before you die.**

Well, that didn’t keep her down for long.

Tie her up?

**It took a long time to find someone who could sell you rope, and a longer time to actually manage to tie her up to any degree. Then she ripped right through it like it was made of tissue.**

Metal rope?

**Acquiring that took long enough that you had to spend the night at the inn before proceeding, and tying her up was even harder. Then she ripped through it- and if not with the previous ease, then without significant difficulty.**

Injuring her?

**She dies, she dies, she dies. Anything debilitating you could inflict in combat is lethal.**

Surviving for long enough in single combat?

  
**1 hour. A hit broke a bone, and leaves you helpless. You died shortly**  
**3 hours. You succeeded in breaking the axe, but triped over the discarded axe at a bad time. You managed to keep going for a while longer, though.**  
**4 hours. She accidentally broke the bridge, and you both droped in. She can fight well in water. You can’t.**  
**6 hours. You messed up a dodge.**  
**16 hours. You collapsed from exhaustion.**  
**This isn’t working.**  


Taunt her into over-exerting herself fighting you?

****  
**You died, you died, and you died more. You taunted her to the peak of her frustration, and dodged her at her best for two whole hours before you collapse.**  
You knew you couldn’t do any better.  


The giant duck?

**Well, it didn’t seem likely to work. You’re going to have nightmares of feathers for months.**

_You had an idea._ But it was a very bad idea. _Still, there didn't seem to be a better option._

You sighed, and went to find a likely patsy.

The kid you choose actually approached you, before you approached them “Hey, you’re new here! What kind of monster are you?” They asked. Their voice is so cheerful, it made you resent them a little. Not enough to justify this to yourself.

You shook your head. You were panicking. You’ve never really gotten along with people, and some of them made dealing with them all worse. Friendly ones were the worst, really. Unfreindly ones you don't have to worry about hurting, but freindly ones you need to keep freindly.

“Oh, you can’t speak? That’s okay.” They said, “I’m Asriel, but everyone calls me kid.”

You shook your head again.

“No, it really is okay that you can’t speak. Look, I know what it’s like to be disabled. It doesn’t make you any lesser. I mean, you’ve grown to deal with it.”

You struggled with the inhibition, before forcing out an answer, “I can.” You just didn't like doing it.

He nodded. “That’s fine too. Anyways, you want to hang out with me in waterfall?”

You nodded back. This was suspiciously convenient.

He grined, “Well then, I’ll lead the way.”

You followed wordlessly. He showed you around a bit, before realizing something, “I need to go get something. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up soon.”

You muttered a barely audible, “bye.” _Well, that was a failure._ He had been nice, though. If you weren't being hunted, you think you'd have wanted to stay with someone like him. You decided you might as well try and see if there’s anything else you can do, though. 

You tried to wait for a while, before running out of patience and proceeding. 

Fighting through the monsters was easy enough. 

This time, though, when you arrived, he caught up with you. 

Alphys showed up like before, and gives her speech. You started inching towards asriel, as he looks shocked at you being human, and is gazing awestruck at Alphys. Before she could attack, you grabbed him, and held the knife to his throat.

“ _Don’t move! If you attack, I’ll stab him!_ ” You said. You were half shocked at how easily the words come out, but they always spilled out most when you were angry.

She hesitated. So it worked. _Good,_ at least she wouldn’t make you follow through with it.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to kill anyone, and I don’t want to hurt him. I haven’t killed anyone yet, and I don’t like the idea of an innocent being my first. But if it’s me or you, I’ll not accept that. I’ll keep trying until I can find a way to get you to show mercy. If you attack, though, we will both be sorry, but he will be dead!”

She stared at your for an instant, “True. What are your demands?”

“ _This, and this alone. You and I have a duel of honor. You set the time. If I survive, you let me live, and let me move on. If you kill me… well, I’ll be dead. Is fifteen minutes fair?_ ”

She sighed, “Yes to the duel, no to the time.”

You dropped the knife, “Sorry, Asriel.” You said as he ran off.

“He’ll never forgive you, you know. Neither will I.” She spoke, “it’s not like it’d make a difference in how long the fight goes on. One hour.”

You managed it. You had the memories of so many fights, you knew you could.

She scowled, when time ran out. 

“I’m sorry.” You muttered, pulling out coins, “ _It was necessary, though._ You wouldn’t spare me any other way. Give these to him, it’s the least I can do.”

She snarled, “Kid, You could’ve killed me. I’d have died in the line of duty, and it would’ve been more moral than what you just did.”

“Again, I could do the good thing, but you would be dead. That isn’t acceptable.”

“Kid, sometimes you need to kill. Better one dead than two.” She said, staring sadly into the water.

“I know. But so far, you’ve been the hardest to dissuade. I’ll probably need to kill someone, but… I’ll go to any extent to remove that possibility.”

“You do know, if i didn't cave, you would have killed him, right?”

“…No, but I thought I might. Still, I thought it was worth the gamble.”

“It wasn’t.”

“I trusted you to choose correctly. You monsters are so good…” 

“I’m not. Anyways, here’s the key. Up ahead, there’s a barrier, to keep the human from escaping, but the key will let you through, as well as everyone else. I hope you don’t regret this choice, someday. I hope I won't.”

“I probably will, but… That doesn’t mean I do right now. Tell him sorry, though, because I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alphys has ... a different sort of determination to undyne. 
> 
> Chara isn't a good person. 
> 
> Asriel is a real sweetheart who's going to need all the money to pay for therapy, i think.
> 
> Though Alphys has no idea where he is, she's never seen the kid before in her life. It takes her over six hours, and 8 involuntary baths, to find him.


	4. Falling through elegies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, please tell me what You think i'm doing wrong, because I'm sure i'm doing something wrong, at the bare minimum.

You dreamed of fire and siblings. Of a mirror and a choice. Of a plan to free the monsters, and of a last-minute change in the plan. Blood, so much blood, both dead from your choices. You blame yourself, somewhat. You blame him more. 

You dreamed of a human, still locked in your room... _No, cell_. You wondered if he is there still. If he found your food stockpiles, he might yet live. More likely, he’s been rescued. You wonder if they’d have noticed the other stuff, yet. Probably not, he was good at hiding the signs. Better to try not to head for the surface.

But, then, you weren’t that much better off here. Even if it was traditional to pass gold onto someone else when you’re defeated in combat, which has granted you financial stability, you don’t have enough to ensure your safety above yet, and down here… Well, the queen wanted your soul, you have been constantly attacked by monsters, your best friend tried to kill you, and you’ve been attacked by at least three who could kill you without that much effort.

It has been oddly enjoyable. Perhaps you should have delayed your victory so you can hunt out some more people trying to kill you. On the other hand, Alphys was bad enough. You don’t want it to ever be a choice between their life and yours. Maybe that is because you don’t know what you’d choose this time. Maybe it was because you do.

You been spent the last hour or so pacing in Hotland, running into random monsters. Maybe it was because you enjoyed it, because you did. Maybe it’s because you hoped Alphys would attack again, that it was nothing more than you deserve. That’s possible too.

Most of them were quite dangerous, but not organized enough to be a serious threat. 

When you ran into temmie, you weren’t really surprised.

“Hoi! It’z been a wile sink temmie last saw you. You’ve been going around showing mercy to everything, haven’t you, Frisk. Well, that’s rather unlike you.”

You scowled, it just made you mad. You’ve had enough stupid nicknames, you didn’t need another. “My name is Chara.”

“Yes, I’m sure it is. I wasn’t talking to you. I know you’re in there, Frisk. I didn’t think so at first, the attitude just doesn’t fit. But, then I realized. Chara isn’t a puppet, are they? Not your body, and not your soul. They’re a partner. You’ve been trying to choose a champion to destroy humanity, haven’t you? Someone should stop you. Too bad, I’m not going to. ” He monologued meaninglessly, as you stood, waiting for the attack. “Chara. Be careful. Frisk doesn’t like humans, and like the war with the surface, I shouldn’t let this happen. But I know I can’t stop you both. There’s only one thing that can stop you. Chara.”

“ _Get lost._ ” You said. Did you say that?

“Hoi, that was vera mean. Humans r----- rued!!!” It shouted, before… dissolving?

You scowled, and kept moving.  
\---

You didn’t realize how cold you had been until you weren’t. Hotlands was a beautiful wasteland. _The scary thing was, You were being completely serious when you said that._

There was a lab in the distance. You began walking towards it. A handful of Monsters attacked, and you … dealt… with them. It was getting irksome, but you tried to actually remember their names this time. Showing mercy might be a mere game to you, a challenge to divert yourself with, or it might be a personal moral objective. Either way, though, you hadn’t really cared about their feelings until now. You were thinking of them as, if not less than human, different from humans. Not something you could empathize with.

_'But… they’re really just like, better humans. Ones that could actually manage to practice what humanity preaches. No wonder they wanted to destroy the inferior copies.;_

You arrived at the lab. You started to walk in, when a ghost lunged in front of you, “Don’t!”

You almost hurled the knife at them. Monsters you could deal with, but ghosts were dead humans, and humans were trouble.

They laughed, “Sorry, I scared you, didn’t I. I’m not going to attack again. I’m Hapstablook, if you forgot, we met in the ruins, darling.” Had you fought them before? You had forgotten. “But… Inside the lab, there’s two others. They’re both prepared to test you, to defeat you, and to kill you. Napstablook, who’s equipped with a really dangerous, human killing body, and his creator, Undyne. Either one of them would love to kill you for the queen.”

You nodded. You took a step towards the door. 

Hapstablook stood there, “Must you, dear? Don’t you have someplace better to go? I’m sure you could find a safer route.”

You shook your head.

The ghost scowled. “I had hoped to talk you into being safe. Since I haven’t, I’m coming with you, darling.”

You sighed, nodded.

The building was well-lit. You proceeded a few steps, and a voice boomed, “You’re trapped... The floor’s rigged to zap you on command. So, let’s play a game… Human”

You frowned. He’s toying with you.

“Answer the questions right, and you get to keep going... Answer them wrong, and you get zapped... You ready?!

You nodded.

"Oh, and I'm no cheater... I'll only ask questions the players can answer, of course! To do anything else would be unfair to someone as foreign as you! First question, How much damage does sans’ attacks deal?”

You answered, “1 damage per hit.”

“Correct! Next question!”

It continued like this for a while. Sometimes you would get it right, and sometimes you wouldn’t. When you didn’t, the floor zapped you. It was quite painful, but it would take a while for them to kill you.

Eventually, you were asked one, final, question, as you stood on wobbly legs. “Why did you betray asriel?”

You stayed silent. You didn’t really have a good answer, anyways. Even if it’d kill you to not answer.

“That’s your choice... You didn’t answer, you get zapped... Way to stick to your principles, though!”

Suddenly, Hapstablook spoke up from behind, “Did you really think she’d back down? They didn’t have a better choice!”

“Brother, did you want to enter the game? If you’re going to play, you have to follow the rules... Well, I guess i can handle that! Here's the replacement question! Human, who does Hapsta have a crush on?... Alphys, Undyne, Sans or someone else?”

You hesitated, before just spitting out a wild guess, “Alphys!”

“Heh. Totally wrong. You could make a career out of being wrong, if you weren't going to die shortly!”

“Napsta, you’re being way too harsh. They couldn’t be expected to guess from fifteen minutes with me.”

“Please... Hapsta keeps trying to befriend humans, and Alphys has to kill them all... The human can’t tell how much they'd hate each other? They’re like, total opposites... You should die, but… Sorry, Miss Undyne... I’m not feeling up to it right now. Not with how their death would crush my cousin... Hapsta… be prepared... I’m not going to spare them next time.......”

“We did it!” Hapsta cheered briefly, before frowning. “He knows a lot about your journey. That’s… worrying.”

You frowned. How were you going to deal with that? They certainly wouldn’t hold back because of what you’d done. Not after taking an innocent hostage.

“Hey, cheer up! You’ll make it out alive, I promise!” Hapstablook said.

You sighed. Hapstablook honestly cared about your survival a lot more than you did. There wasn’t anything that would change that. Everyone behind you had been left behind, and everything in front of you was looking more and more dreadful with every step. Another friend that would be abandoned on the surface. Every step made you want to see the monsters win a little more. That’s not fair to the monsters, to be pitted against all-but-demons. You had made it so far without ever killing anyone, but if it came to war, monsters were outnumbered and outpowered. 

After all, you’d managed to defeat some of their most competent people. _You couldn’t let them kill you._ They didn’t know what they’d inflict upon themselves by breaking the seal.

You closed your eyes. You needed to think about this.

Then you kept moving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, headcanon time- napsta runs a radio, and is really quiet most of the time. They do just about everything, but they have all these pauses and some of the issues canon one has.


	5. Descending through metal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard. As always- Please tell me anything and everything you think i've gotten wrong- it will make me reconsider, even if i do reply with three paragraphs of my reasoning, and it'll help me know what not to do! Thanks! I'm still not sure i've got the character's voices right- i stink a dialouge, after all.

Hapstablook was very helpful, even if he didn’t always want to rush you through the puzzles. You didn’t really enjoy any kind of puzzle that didn’t involve some sort of danger, so you didn’t savor them the way he wanted you to. _It was a shame, but you couldn’t change that._

Sometimes, when you were walking, or particularly bored, he would talk about his life. It was interesting, and dodging the patterns of a particularly weak volcano monster was a lot more entertaining when you were distracted. 

Rarely, you’d even feel confident enough to reply, or to comment at the monsters. You have been getting braver down here, you realized. Maybe if you stayed down here long enough, you’d be able to hold a conversation with others without needing to trust them or be angry.

For now, though, you mostly listened. It seemed Hapstablook had been watching your entire journey from here. For an instant you worry about how, before discarding the concern. It’s not like there’s cameras in every inch of the underground, right?

More likely, all the roads have them though. No wonder Undyne wants you dead. You’re more surprised at Hapstablook’s continued aid, when he knows what you did.

You suppose some people are far too forgiving.

Eventually, you progressed into a pitch black room. Hapstablook looked nervous, as you entered. When the room all but glowed from the light and the doors locked, you weren’t really surprised. You didn’t think he’d kill you, but it didn’t matter either way.

Then he laughed, “Dude, this isn’t a death-trap. This is the delay. You’re not getting out until you grant me an interview! But, since it’d be too boring for you, if it were just doing that, Let’s add a little something extra. Better polish your evasion skills.”

Then the bullets started flying. You laughed, weaving them. His attack hadn’t been that dangerous, but there was something familiar about it. He asked a question, even as you tried to dodge. You answered, quickly and thoughtlessly, without even stopping to examine your answers.

After a few minutes of patterns you might have recognized, slightly, he asked one that actually gave you pause. “Why do you need to leave the underground?”

You froze, a blast of wind missing you by the narrowest of margins. The attack was dying down, so you thought carefully, before opening your mouth. “Because… I don’t. But until I can get the queen to stop attacking me, there’s no safe option, and I’d be bringing down destruction on the heads of anyone who protected me. Sparing me is fine, I’m a dangerous human, Queen Toriel wouldn’t blame them for not forcing me to fight. But if I stuck around, the Queen would bring the army down, and I can’t trust her. In a nation of innocents, she’d have to be all the harsher to keep her people safe. She won’t show me mercy, unless I make her. I will make her.”

Lies spilled like rain. True lies in the sense that they’d stop you if you ever considered the offer, but not the first reasons that stopped you. You don’t really know what those reasons are. Keeping moving won’t keep you safe, but neither will stopping. You don’t want to go back to the surface, and you don’t really want to be the only human in a land of monsters either.

“You’ve made a paradise here, and for all that you call this a prison, it’s a better place than anything I’ve seen above. You don’t really need to leave. But you want to, so I’ll need to protect myself, and perhaps that’ll mean running to the above. Is that enough of an answer?”

“Yeah.” Napstablook says, “I’m okay with that. You can go.”

You walked out, still feeling melancholy. Hapstablook followed, silently.  
\---  
Shortly afterwards, you were cut off by a giant suit of armor. It boomed at you, something you couldn’t make out for sheer volume, deafening you. Dozens of different parts, holes that reminded you of guns, pointed at you.  
  
You held back, watching as it attacked, releasing a massive blast of flame. It was overwhelming, but you managed to evade it… barely.  
  
You examined it, as it readied to fire another blast, and dodged again. You examined the area while you waited for it to fire a third time. Stone and woods scraps, a pit of lava on both sides, and… scraps of iron, ones that would fit perfectly. You grabbed two as you dodged another blast of flame, before charging forwards and sticking it into two of the holes the flame poured from, scrambling backwards before the next blast of flame could catch you.

The flames were weaker, and the scraps held. You grabbed more, and continued. It was a long fight, but not a hard one by the end. Not when it collapsed in an overheated mess. You tried to pull out whoever was inside. There wasn’t anyone, just a vast mess of circuits, and melted steel. It must have been a cleverly disguised robot. Or, given the hugeness of its form, a not-so-cleverly disguised robot.  
  
Or, perhaps, it was a possessed suit of armor. You hoped it had survived. Your ears had finally stopped ringing, and you asked Hapstablook, “Was there anything in there?”  
  
The ghost shook his head, “No. It was remote controlled- one of Undyne’s robots. She’s got more. Watch out for them.”  
  
You nodded, and began walking towards the city ahead.  
\---  
You kept going for a bit, dealing with enemies easily. The royal guards were troublesome, but they weren’t that dangerous, and unlike alphys, you were able to distract them into a discussion on their friendship, and then run off in the confusion.

Grilsby was interesting. You felt sorry for the flames, but not enough to roll over and die for him. **There was no way to talk him out of it. Only force would work.** You did feel sorry enough that, once you’d beaten him to an inch of his life so he’d stop his otherwise relentless attack, you emptied your pockets, dropping dozens of coins besides him as he stood unsteadily, unwilling to make the show of weakness that sitting would be, but incapable of maintaining his balance any longer.

Then you moved on. He wouldn’t accept charity, you expected, but he wouldn’t refuse it if you left.  
Hapstablook muttered something along the lines of a compliment, and you shook your head. “Shouldn’t’ve hurt him.” You muttered. 

_You can’t save everyone, and you shouldn’t try._ But, you can choose to not kill anyone. You’ll never be a pacifist, but you don’t need to kill _again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sure you noticed that hapstablook, rather than undyne, has taken alphy's role- except he hasn't. Alphys is the one who delays you with robots, but doesn't really want to kill you. She's also the excentric personality you keep running into throughout hotlands. 
> 
> AU!Undyne does want to crush you, but she doesn't have to. She's trying to kill you, but delaying you would do. She's just trying to keep the queen safe from you, and it's working, or at least slowing you down.
> 
> Hapstablook is being your guide because both Napstablook and Undyne want to stall you or defeat you, but they want to give you a fair warning- also because Hapstablook is still a fan of humans, even if he isn't a star himself- he genuinely does want to protect you.
> 
> Up next: we get to watch as Napstablook finnally gets bored of the performance!


	6. Torrents plummeting behind

Sans called you as you stumbled through the ruins.

You blathered about combat for a while- mostly him, but you occasionally spoke- before he got to the meaningful part. Well, you did enjoy the combat talk, but not enough to be worth telling in any further detail. His voice lowered. To normal speaking volume, but still lowered.

“I heard what you did to Asriel. You really hurt him, you know? He’s s”  
You sighed, “I know.”

“I’m glad you didn’t need to kill him, but… I don’t know. I don’t like you threatening innocents, but neither do I like the idea of either you or alphys dying. I’m not sure there was a better way, but I wish there were. I’m told sometimes you just have to do whatever you have to, to bend a principle to maintain others. Alphys is furious with you but… I think she understands, at the same time.” Sans said.

“I… I hope not.” You muttered. At least, you thought you did. He might have heard.

“That said, Asriel. He’s a constantly stress, and keeps snapping at me. He’s physically fine, but you did hurt him. I’m not blaming you, really, it’s not like there was something else you could do, right? Still, I thought you should know. We’re still friends, at least as far as I can choose that. Bye.”

You collapsed, laughing franticly. Without tears, because it wasn’t worth crying over anything. Sans didn’t blame you? Monsters were even more naïve than you had previously believed. You picked up the knife, stabbing it into the ground a few times. There were _promises you had to keep_ , and you couldn’t stop. Not while the monsters might get themselves all killed. Not when they might bring down doom with your own soul.

You couldn’t stop. You had to stay alive, until the monsters were strong enough.

You picked up the knife. You wouldn’t use it, but it might keep monsters away.

You began walking. 

Hapstablook hovered behind you- had they seen that outburst? You couldn’t bring yourself to care.

You kept going.

\---  
You had walked in silence for a while when you ran into robots again. 

Three suits of armor stood in front of you, each one with different-looking weapons.

This time, they boomed with Napstablook’s voice “Undyne’s plan involved pitting each of these against you solo. Sorry. That’s not happening, human. Time to die… Asriel will be avenged. Oh, and don’t bother with attacking. They’re more durable than your little knife is. “

You smirked, “The last one wasn’t.”

“No, it wasn’t. But, then, Undyne made these special for you, based on what you did to the ones she lent sans. The one you wrecked was a mere prototype. It wasn’t even a useful one. These, on the other hand, are each better than the last. I’m going to record the fight, for Undyne to watch later. She’s busy right now with a medical assignment.”

“I’ll need to make their destructions a good show for her, then?”

“Yes, you will. You’re pretty good at that, at least in her opinion. Go, keep bantering. I’m sure she’ll love it! Maybe if you can keep her entertained enough, you can even delay the next trip to the dump for me. Not enough to make me spare you, though. Have fun! I’m gonna go mix something up, enjoy the music I loaded on them in the meanwhile!”

Then the blast of sound came again, deafening you.

The battle was long and slow. Your knife was useless, you couldn’t talk the robots down, and you didn’t have anything to break them with. You couldn’t run, the robots had blocked one exit, and the way you came in had suddenly been blocked.

One would try to interfere with you, while the other two would fire on you. Each fired a different element. Thunder was the most painful to be hit by, while Ice caused the most trouble.

You wore them out by luring them to fire on one another, but it wasn’t fast, wasn’t really viable. You knocked the last one off when it slipped on a patch of ice from earlier. You hoped Undyne didn’t have more. You almost collapsed right there, and if Hapstablook hadn’t ensured you kept moving, you know you would have just collapsed there. 

_Keep moving, Frisk. Keep moving, you can’t just give up!_

You stumbled blearily behind him, as he kept speaking, nudging you, convincing you to keep moving. Eventually you stopped moving, and collapsed completely.

\---  
You had been told of the first child and the heir before, but you didn’t think you remembered the details. Apparently, you did.

You dreamed you were the first child. _You fell, believing yourself to be worthless. You sought nothing, and didn’t dream. You cried out, not for help, but merely in pain. If you called to others at all, it had never been for aid, but for the pain to stop._

When the heir found you, you were surprised at his appearance. He looked exactly like asriel. You still felt guilty for that, so it was no surprise that your dreams would add another level of guilt-trip to the mix.

_You passed out a few minutes later. You discovered the monsters had carried you all the way back to the palace of the royal family. Asgore and the heir both peered worriedly at you, watching anxiously. You felt guilty for worrying them._

_They wasted energy trying to protect you, to care for you. You weren’t worth that. You were just… not worth anything_ to others. Life had taught you that once, and you wouldn’t forget.

_So you sat, and listened, and learned, and tried to aid them all. The heir was always good at caring about others, and that included you. The royal family was just perfection. They didn’t deserve to be sealed down here, didn’t deserve to be kept away from those who would deserve it. People who… weren’t you._

_You planned out how to free them all._  
\---  
You woke, bleary eyed. The dream fading to a vague remembrance. Hapstablook was sitting at a table, his back to you, writing fast and frantic. Balled up papers were scattered around the room. You rose from bed, and he spun around. 

“Are you alright, dear?” He asked.

You nodded. _Why was he being so nice to you?_

“Good. I was… worried.”

“Why?” You asked.

“Well, I don’t know much about humans. I know you need to sleep like we do, but I don’t know how their bodies work, and the only healers who would know would kill you without hesitation. I couldn’t tell if you were on your last legs, or perfectly fine.”

You shook your head, “No, why do you care?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again... Not sure if I did anything wrong, and if so what. I always listen to what other people say. Sometimes i disagree, and try to discuss it, but someone telling me what i did wrong is always appreciated.
> 
> Hope you've all been having happy holidays!


	7. Landing near the depths

Hapstablook hesitated.

You scowled, without meaning to, “Forget it. It’s not like you need to tell me.”

Hapstablook floated closer, speaking quickly, “Dear, What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” You replied, “I’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine.”

Hapstablook looked disappointed, but didn’t push. You moved onwards, and after a brief bout of disorientation, continued onwards. 

Hapstablook talked to you while you both traveled, occasionally giving more detailed directions. Apparently, Napstablook had once had a snail farm, but they moved here when he decided he wanted to work on his art. Hapstablook couldn’t stop him, and hadn’t really wanted to. So they had gotten a nice little place for the pair of them, near the city but not in the city.

Napstablook wasn’t around much, between his radio station, which he worked on nearly constantly during the week, and doctor’s visits with undyne. Still, hapstablook liked his life here better than the farm. You got the impression that the farm had not been an enjoyable place or time for him.

You shared a little about yourself in return. Very little, but some things. That the underground felt like a paradise for you. That you had been pretty good at finding friends once, but then came the voice issues. That you didn’t like to talk any more, and that made friendship harder. That you wished you were a monster, now that you’d seen them.

It was pretty enjoyable, but soon you reached the city. Hapstablook had to go do some shopping, he said, and wandered off. 

You looked around for a bit. You wondered how long you had been down here, and asked someone. The response was incoherent, like someone who had tried to invent a time system from hearsay and two different broken timepieces. 

You were cut off by papyrus before you continued onwards. He offered a meal again, and talked cheerfully for a bit, before getting more serious, and dropping to a reasonable volume. He asked if it was all worth it, if you really needed to escape.

You said yes, didn’t elaborate. Not on how much of a mistake it was, not on what you wanted, not on how, if you weren’t the seventh, you’d probably just roll over and die. Certainly not on how afraid you were for the monsters, on how much easier it was to talk them down than humanity.

If you were the queen, you wouldn’t risk a single of one of their lives on a war like this. You’d stay down here forever, until the people on the surface were centuries dead.

You returned the question “Is getting to the surface that important to monsters?”

Papyrus hesitated. “Not anymore. But yes, once. After the war, hundreds died of despair and starvation. Eventually, we stabilized, but... if you had fallen at that time… I’m sorry to say, I would have killed you myself.”

You slumped in your chair, pulling out a writing utensil you had picked up somewhere. You scrawled on the napkin, “Don’t be.” Then you rose from your chair, heading out. It was time to end the conflict.

\----  
You didn’t wait for hapstablook. He would be in too much danger anyways. 

The area you entered was… empty. Metal and structures and nothing else. Normally, there were numerous monsters in any room, but now there were almost none. Occasionally, one would pop out, but not often.

You never realized how crowded everywhere else was, until they were all gone. All the monsters here seemed to be trained warriors, though you hoped you were wrong. They were still trivial to survive.

You kept moving, and eventually, you made it through. Napstablook was sitting at his desk, still talking into the radio. 

You hadn’t ever seen his body before. It was like a robot version of an actor- you hadn’t watched enough TV to know which one, but there was definitely a resemblance.

You tapped on the wall, and he raised a hand and finished saying goodbye to his veiwers.

Then he turned, and the battle began.

It wasn’t hard, but he used a number of annoying tricks. Splitting your soul, so you had to dodge with both halves, firing musical notes that bounced off of walls, swapping your soul’s location without warning, even exploding 

You don’t remember how long you dodged for, but he eventually collapsed. You slumped over yourself, gasping for breath. He wasn’t moving, _Unacceptable!_

Someone spoke, from behind you, “He’s fine, just tired out. Unlike you, who’re going to be dead.”

You turned around, and there stood Undyne. The pictures you had seen in the city didn’t really do her justice. Too neat, too clean. She looked sloppy, the lab coat unkempt, so thoroughly stained you weren’t sure if it was supposed to be black or white, originally.

She pointed at you, drawing attention to the gun in her hand. You dived to the side, and could feel the bullet pass through you, missing your soul completely. It wasn’t a proper bullet, which was good. Unfortunately, it also meant monsters _still didn’t have the hang of anti-human weapons._ She fired another, this one exploding in a spray of sparks.

“I thought the queen’s request to make the hall of reflection was silly, but now I see its virtue. You’re not going to stop, are you? I knew humans were, well, humans, but I didn’t get how hard they were to stop.”

You shook your head. She fired again, this one ricocheting against the walls. “You don’t kill, but you’ll inflict any amount of harm short of that. I can’t let you escape. We need the seventh soul.”

You smirked. The bullet was still ricocheting as she fired another, this one blazing. You winced as it passed through your body, the flames licking your soul.

“Do you really want monsterkind to be sealed down here for all eternity? Are you going to free us?”

The next bullet flew absurdly fast, and hit your soul directly. You winced, you could feel the cracks in your soul, it had almost shattered.

_You moved as if by magic, hurling yourself at the gun._ You shoved it away from yourself as undyne fired another shot, the last one if monsterkind followed human weaponry conventions.

Undyne sighed, discarding the gun, “That’s all. I’m not going to make a promise like alphys did, but this fight, at least, is over. The royal palace is ahead. The queen will stop you, or maybe it’ll all be over soon. She’s not going to give in, though. It’s her or you, and there’s no third option.”

You couldn’t consider killing the queen, though. You couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t, kill anyone. You kept moving until there were no more monsters around, before collapsing to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This feels rushed to me... and I need to go back and change napstablook later, until i have a coherent individual. I think he's more quiet, a peaceful radio anouncer. of course, I need to make sure he doesn't sound too much like cecil, but i do think that he's not bold or brash or anything like that.


	8. nadir

You dreamed.

_Your family, your people, were all in the depths of a prison. You had the key, but you’d have to die to set them free. Or you could live, and let monsters slowly dwindle and fade from lack of food. The stores were fading, the people desperate. No one was starving any more, but everyone was hungry. Things were getting better, but they weren’t good yet._

_The Queen and King were the worst-off. Boss monsters could survive indefinitely with neither food nor drink, but it would take its toll. But since they could do without, they did. The Prince seemed likely to follow suit, should starvation actually begin. It hurt to see how badly off everyone was. But you came here because death was better than where you left, and you came here because you would at least be useful in your final moments, even if never before, even if only to mindless beasts._

_You didn’t tell anyone about the plan. You wouldn’t need to, if you chose the right place. It hurt to realize how it’d hurt them, but they could handle it, and the monsters needed this._

_The note was carefully crafted, the weapon chosen for the symbolism. They didn’t expect it. Honestly, you didn’t show any signs, and you were good at that. Good at… facades in general. You chose a spot in the middle of the open, one where monsters could see, but couldn’t save you in time, so your soul would stay behind when you died._

_It failed. But that wasn’t just a flaw of the plan, really. It was a complete lack of understanding monsterkind. That was all it was. You had planned to exterminate humanity, and you didn’t expect them to choose otherwise. Maybe innocent humans would die, but most humans were guilty, so the toll in innocent lives wouldn’t have been that high. But they choose mercy, even knowing it would kill them. He choose mercy, even knowing it would kill him._

_You expected what would happen instead, if monsters choose wrong. The village had always been a place for people who deserved humanity’s version of the word monster. The ‘demon’ was crushed without hesitation._

_This time… You need to let them choose every step of the way, and you need to keep letting them choose. Or you need to kill everything that tries to hurt them, everything that could, and don’t let them have any choice in the matter._

_Monsters and humans cannot trust one another. It isn’t safe. It’s us or them. A lesson you always had known, since the day you met monsters._

_Either let your people choose, and guide them on that path, or choose for them, and force them down the path._

_It’s a shame you learned too late._  
  
\----  
You woke. 

It was dark, and everything felt grey. It wasn’t, not really, but you were worried.

You walked into the palace, ignoring the city in the distance.

The place was an echo of asgore’s place, but it was truly grey, painted in bland monochrome.  
The main way was blocked, and as you moved through the house, you were cut off by monsters, telling you parts of a tale you had already heard, though you didn’t know when. The angel, or what became it.

 _Once upon a time, there was a human named Frisk._

You knew how it ended, and it made you sad. The monsters had deserved better, Frisk had deserved better. Perhaps humanity had deserved worse, or perhaps that didn’t matter. You weren’t a hero, and you couldn’t save them.

_But nothing changed._

The monsters needed help, needed change. You can’t give it to them, not then, and not yet. They wanted your soul. You won’t give it to them, not when they’ll be doomed the instant they have it. Perhaps you could talk Queen Toriel down, or perhaps not. But…

_We’re not leaving._

You hoped you wouldn’t need to kill her.

_It’s almost time now, human. Aren’t you glad? Aren’t you glad?_

You laughed bitterly at that. It’s going to be over soon. Soon. Soon.

_Be careful._

You laughed at that, genuinely. ‘Aren’t I always?’

 _… I’ll miss her, or I’ll miss you. I don’t think I can save you both._ the angel continued, and you moved again. When had you stopped?

\---- You examined the walls closely. They were gold bricks, and no matter how much you picked at them, there was only the same material beneath. Perhaps it wasn’t true gold, but that didn’t matter. You kept picking at it. You didn’t remember picking up the scythe, but it was fine, you weren’t going to use it for anything except examining the wall.

If it were real gold, you could be set for life with a few bricks, if it wasn’t too heavy. You weren’t going back. You’d just wind up back here anyways, or worse off than that. 

Still, it was a distraction.

You didn’t want to fight her. You rose anyways, and continued down the hall.

Ahead, Papyrus stood. You knew he was harmless, but… _he's not_

He spoke, gave a preface, mentioned LV and EXP, knowledge you already had, even if you didn’t know from where, and then said, “It’s time for your judgement.” That was when you realized, he wasn’t shouting. Gone were the corny jokes, no more obvious, massive grin. He was still smiling, but it reminded you of the one you have in the mirror. Tight, bitter, with an undercurrent of true happiness, but mostly like life’s a joke and you’re the punchline.

Somehow, that made it more real. “You didn’t kill anyone. You might not be completely innocent, but you have no deaths on your hands yet. Well done. I can tell you, there were times it was hard, but you did it. Now. You are going to fight the queen. She will not show you mercy. If you do not kill her, she will kill you, and free the monsters. If you kill her, You can leave, but the monsters will be trapped down here.”

He paused, “I trust you to choose correctly. Think about it, though. Did you do the best you could? Don’t forget your mistakes. Those who don’t learn from the future are doomed to repeat it.”

You nod. _He knows._

“Relect upon your deeds, as you approach her. Neither of you are pure, but neither of you are without hope, either.”

He stepped aside, and you moved onwards.  
\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh, i'm feeling progressively less satisfied with the story with every word. I love the idea, but the more i advance, the more it feels like the whole thing is irrideemably mediocre. 
> 
> Pointing out errors will make me feel better about it, believe it or not. 
> 
> That is not intended as a wink-wink nudge-nudge, just a statement of fact.
> 
> Well, just the two final bosses and the epliouge. I might come back to the fandom sometime, but i think i'll take a break after that.


	9. Inversion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure i'm happy with this, but it's as good as i'll be able to do for now. I just don't have the energy or creativity to make it better.
> 
> School is hard at times. Not that that's what you care about, but it's still true.

\----  
_‘You’re going to die.’_

Probably.

_‘There’s no happy ending here.’ ‘It’s just Mom or you.’_

Not this time, anyways. I don’t know how to go back, but I promise I will.

_‘You’ve determined that, haven’t you.’_

I’ll try again, when I reset. When the knowledge flows upstream.

_‘if you reset. If it’s not already too late. You’re assuming your visions will keep happening.’_

You’re right. If. If. I’m sorry we can’t just have happily ever after.

 _I forgive us._  
\------  
There was something in the queen’s demeanor that reminded you of someone else. Perhaps Temmie, the way she deliberately mangled pronunciation, though hers sounded like they could be honest mistakes while Temmie’s are exaggerated so far it’d be impossible to reach there by accident.

Perhaps Asgore, though she was solemn in a way that feels unnatural, like she was never not solemn, while Asgore, while often solemn, wore the expressions in a way that felt natural, and had other emotions. She reminded you of a mourner, someone who never quite got over some past loss. Asgore moved on, even if he’s not quite happy, but the queen never did. Calling her Toriel would feel false, like referring to a friend by their childhood nickname, after they’ve moved on.

She seemed sad, like she regretted her choices. But you couldn’t talk her out of her choice.

You discussed it over pie, before you fought.

You don’t remember quite what happened. You remember begging for her to spare herself, you remember screaming, you remember getting hit, but you just, didn’t, die. She just didn’t stop.

You remember stabbing and screaming and fury.

And then it ended. She was barely standing, but she wasn’t attacking any more. She bowed, waited for the final blow.

You moved forwards.

 _It’s probably a trick._

“It’s worth the risk.” 

You moved forwards, but you didn’t reach her.

You were blasted away. Toriel was blasted in the other direction, and you didn’t think she survived.

Temmie stood behind Toriel, the six souls scattered behind it.

“hi, frisk! ded you miss me ?”

You threw the knife. It grazed temmie, and bounced off the wall.

Temmie scowled, and freed the souls with precise blasts of bullets. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to stop you now, Frisk, Toriel. You can’t be allowed to destroy humanity.”  
  
You scowled, “You idiot! I’m trying to protect the monsters!”  
  
“u THINk dat , chara, buT frisk is using u as a pawn for deir own vengance. I don’t know why u THINk i’d beliebe u.” Temmie replied.

“We weren’t-“

“don’t fall f' dem. ebehyone is a liar; no one’s 2 be trusted; everyone’s nasty, mean and brutal. i’m de only one I can trust , de only one wwho cudd sabe u..” Temmie raved.

You scowled, reaching for the knife, even as the souls drifted closer.

You lunged, but it was too late. Temmie scowled, and you were hurled across the room, even as the souls merged.

“Frisk, it’s over.” It said, in a calm voice.

It shifted, changing form into something unworldly and horrific. You ignored the transformation, tried to avoid the volleys.

It fought, solemn and sharp. It cheated, and had far more firepower than it had any right to. You knew how other people felt about fighting, and this reminded you why. You kept hitting it, kept begging with it, but Temmie wasn’t stopping. It didn’t work. Temmie believed in itself, even if it didn’t believe in you.

You gave up on dodging, just kept talking. Spilling words even as the world shifted around. Spat out lies and honesty alike. 

It blasted you to bits. One time, five times, 10 times, 50 times, ripping you back together again after each round. You lost count of your deaths.  
  
_One hundred seventy-three, One hundred seventy-four, One hundred seventy-five_  
  
You told it your dreams, your hopes, everything you wanted for the monsters and everything that had happened to you, begging it to show mercy.  
  
_Six hundred twenty four, Six hundred twenty five, Six hundred twenty six_  
  
It didn’t.  
  
_Eight hundred sixty seven_

You kept trying. You kept failing.

_One thousand and seven, one thousand and eight, one thousand and nine._

Eventually, Temmie began speaking, taunting you, laughing.

“Call for help, no one will come. You’re not the hero.” It taunted.

You called, and…

It was over. That was really all you could think. If you thought anything else, you’d just be too angry to do anything.

You were back in the throne room, Temmie lying helpless in front of you, Toriel’s soul floating in the air.

You heard you could absorb a boss monster’s soul. You probably weren’t worthy of the honor. You did it regardless.

Temmie lay there, watching.

You walked over, and gave it a hug, ignoring the screaming fury in your head.

Temmie said “I haven’t learned anything.”

You didn’t move.

Sparing me won’t change anything, killing me is the only way to end this.”  
  
You didn’t care.

“If I live, I’ll be back. I’ll stop you. I’ll inflict this all upon you again.”

You didn’t move.

“You’re not the hero.” Temmie ripped itself free of your grasp, firing a volley of projectiles at you.

You dodged, easily as breathing.

Temmie fired another volley, and vanished.

You slumped. It was over. You could leave, but why would you? 

You just lay there, waiting until you felt better.

You fell asleep.

You slept for a long time.

\-----

When you woke, no one was beside you.

 _Papyrus visited. He told you what happened since your 'victory'._ Frisk 'said'.

_Asgore has left the ruins, and has been ruling since the queen's death. He's been able to keep most of the monsters from giving in to despair. He's declared that all future humans to fall will be treated as fellow monsters, and have the full protection of the law._

_Sans has become captain of the royal guard, but the position is mostly figurative now. He spends a lot of time talking to monsters, and helping out monsters who're giving in to despair. It doesn't always works, but he tries._

_Alphys has kept to her promise, but she regrets making it. She realizes you were just doing what you had to, but she doesn't forgive you. She's thrown herself into her work with dangerous determination, and Sans is worried about her._

_Undyne, Napstablook, and Hapstablook have been working on a way out for the monsters, one that doesn't require human souls. They won't succeed for a while, though._

_This isn't the best ending, but it's still good. Stay with it for a while, before you move on, Chara._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a neutral ending. The hostage decision made befriending Alphys and Undyne impossible, which meant that, despite not killing anyone, Chara just got the neutral- analogous to the heat-stroke Undyne ending. It's a little happier, though.
> 
> Just having Asriel there would have made the fight winnable- You'd just need to keep holding her off long enough for him to try to save you.
> 
> This isn't the epilogue, but this is the end until i post the finale.


	10. Apex

The blade fell.

You dodged naturally, scowling when you realized how easy it was.

Alphys smirked, raising her axe again. You didn’t acknowledge her, spinning to locate Undyne. Where was she? 

You heard the swing, and sidestepped without hesitation or turning to face her. She followed up with another swing, which was evaded with equal ease, until Undyne fired another bullet. You only narrowly dodged that one, and Alphys was already swinging the axe again.

You narrowly dived to the side, and if you hadn’t learned how to use your new found power, it would have hit you. As it was, it came closer than you liked.

That was when the next projectile came, crashing into your body and hurling you to the ground.

Alphys took the chance remorselessly, bringing the axe down. You rolled. The axe came far too close.

You gripped your ‘knife’ tightly, swinging it in retaliation, even as you ducked under Alphys’ follow-up attack. Three hits, three lines of red along Alphys’ armour.

Then you heard the noise of another projectile headed your way, and you hurled yourself out of the way. It hit alphys with explosive force, and she was out. You got hit by the backlash, a thin patch of green on your shirt. Too small to send you out of the game, but still an injury. 

On the bright side, Undyne was probably running out of paint projectiles.

You began walking towards where you thought she was.

With Alphys down, Undyne doesn’t have anyone left to rescue her from you, so you advanced far faster, dodging the projectiles easily.   
Then you’ve crossed the distance, and it’s easy to take her down. One slash, two, three, four. She fired, and you blocked. Paint splattered everywhere.

You scowled. You had been enjoying the paint battle, but now you were both out.

You scowled at her, and she laughed. 

You sighed, and begrudgingly muttered, “You’re getting better.”

She smirked, “You’re getting sloppy.”

“You don’t seriously have weapons like that, right?”

She grinned, a clear refusal to provide an answer.

Alphys walked over to you, grinning a little herself. _It was rare to see the stoic mask vanish from alphys, and rarer for it to vanish for a positive emotion._

None of you really got along, but you did have some rapport. You respected Alphys for both her strength and her principles, and you respected Undyne for her intelligence, and how she used it.

You thought they probably respected you along the same lines, but they didn’t trust you. Alphys regarded you warily, and Undyne’s affection felt begrudging, like she wished she could hate you instead.

You wandered the battlefield together, watching the rest of the fights. Asgore had begun this event as a way to force you to interact with other human beings, during that first month, where you refused to do anything but sleep, eat, and wander the castle.

Hapstablook was acting as referee for the other fight, a three-way standoff between Sans, Asgore and Papyrus.

Napstablook was sitting on the sidelines, completely covered in paint.

Papyrus would never, ever, fight seriously, but in a game like this, he was terrifying. Sans had been one of the most dangerous foes you had fought, and Papyrus made him look like a Flowey.

On the other hand, you’d seen how much Asgore had been holding back on you, and Sans was a master of evasion, while papyrus couldn’t dodge if his life depended on it, so you legitimately had no idea how the fight would go.

Papyrus would just keep getting up- apparently, by Undyne’s judgement, it would take the equivalent of five full-bodied coats of paint to actually take him out in a real fight, but everyone had agreed to tone it down to a lower, but still absurd, amount.

You sat and watched.

\----  
When that round was done, you had another, before everyone had to go. Asgore had a kingdom to rule, Alphys had guards to train, Undyne had weapons to repair and experiments to run. You started heading back to your room. You liked the other monsters, but you didn’t want to force yourself on them, or be a nuisance. So usually you just tucked yourself in the room that had once been MK and the ghost’s, and played in there.

More recently though, some of your friends had taken up the habit of intercepting you. You suspected Asgore’s hand in the matter, but it could have been legitimate concern. 

Today it was Napstablook. He grinned awkwardly. He’d been like this around you ever since you had met him, tense and nervous. He wasn’t like this when he was on air or doing duties, but the instant the microphone went away, he went from complete confidence to constant, if slight, unease. 

You smiled in a manner you hoped was welcoming.

He started talking, hesitantly- brief pauses that you only notice from listening to his show, because they aren’t there when he's on air. “I wanted to ask you for combat lessons.”

You didn’t hesitate to ask your question. It was simpler to get to the point. “Why me?”

Napstablook shruged “Who else? You’re stronger than anyone else I know besides the king, and you actually have time to spare. My social circle isn’t huge, at least from my side of it. Besides, I know people like us need to get out occasionally, and an excuse helps.”

“Dad didn’t put you up to this, did he?” You asked. You doubted he did- he doesn’t like to think about how much you had to fight, how good at hurting people you are. How your survival depended on it when you fell. He wants to put it behind you, and he’d see this as dwelling on it. It’s not. Tiptoeing around it like a viper is dwelling on it. Acting like it didn’t happen, pretending to be your past self, even if that’s not really you anymore, is dwelling on it. Pointed ignorance is the most miserable way to dwell on it possible.

He shook his head.

You reply, “Sure.” You’re trying not to smile, but you’re not sure you’re succeeding.

You spent a bit discussing schedules and giving basic advice to one another. You may have the most experience with dodging of anyone, and more raw power than most, but you haven’t learned magic yet, even if you might be part monster now. Napstablook has the most experience with relearning magic- even if magic was always a part of him, his new body’s magic is wildly divergent from the old one.

You parted ways, then you collapsed on the bed.

You had let your sleep schedule fall into disarray when you came down here, and it never really got organized again, with the lack of any way of telling time on the surface.

\---

You woke some time later.

You wandered out of your room, wondering who to spend time with. Asgore- _Dad_ \- would be too busy to actually do anything with you, but would appreciate the company while he dealt with the monsters.

Papyrus probably wasn’t on judge duty, but he always seemed to know when you wanted him and to be there, so it might not matter whether he was or not. He was good company, but the angel had never quite gotten used to him, and still seemed to feel terrified of him.

Sans would be worth calling. You needed guidance on how to handle the lessons for Napstablook anyways.

So you did, wandering the castle as you waited for him to pick up the phone. 

He picked it up, greeting you with obvious enthusiasm. You discussed cooking for a bit, before you brought up the lessons with Napstablook. Sans wasn’t good at cooking, but sometimes he’d have good ideas, and frankly, his food would be amazing, if he didn’t drown it so thoroughly in ketchup. 

As it was, eating anything he made was disconcertingly similar to eating ketchup straight. You weren’t really picky about food, but you understood why most people didn’t like his. You kept meaning to try to tell him this tactfully, but you hadn’t worked up the courage yet.

You asked him for advice on how to teach Napstablook how to dodge, and he gives some. All his advice is useful, which was a little surprising, though you immediately felt guilty for feeling that way. Sans, for all his silliness, is competent when it counts, no matter how hard it is to remember that when he’s enthusiastically offering a taco that’s 80% ketchup, sitting on a plate with a layer of ketchup of its own.

Soon Sans has to go, and politely says so.

You nod, and hang up.

You head down to the hall of mirrors. A hallway made of nothing but mirrors, an addition to the castle by queen toriel. You had no idea what its purpose was, but you usually went there to think and plan and talk to the angel when you didn’t have the energy, or your friends didn’t have the time, to socialize with your friends.

Papyrus was waiting for you there, which was unusual. _Get away, now!_ , the voice in your head screams. You don’t listen. They don’t like papyrus, but they’re usually not this scared of him.  
He speaks, “Do you know the legend about this hallway?”

You shake your head, trying to ignore the panic overwhelming you.

He tells you. The queen built this after her children died, to protect against anyone who was their worst possible self, or close enough, for she feared something would gain the power to destroy the world and act on it. As a price, anyone who was their best possible self would be beset by the same precautions, whatever they were.

You joked that he should keep sans out of there, then. He responded, entirely serious, “I do.”

She made a lot of different precautions like this, for each and every catastrophe that might beset the underground. For cave-ins and magma in hotlands and a blizzard in new home and more. Some were reasonable, and practical. Others were so esoteric that they reached the point of absurdity, and sooner than this one did.

All her life had been dedicated to trying to protect her people, but after her life went wrong, her life became exclusively about that.

He grinned, and said, “Make sure you don’t wind up like her.”, and walked off.

You ran your hand along the surface of the mirror, and grinned.

Somehow, you knew what to do.

It’s time to go upstream.

_It’s time to go back_

And you laughed

You were still laughing when you met Temmie again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. Time for a new run, i guess. I'm not writing that, but Chara's happier now. Again, pointing out any errors or reasons this is bad is always appreciated, but i'm sure i've said that a thousand times now.
> 
> Still tempted to tag this with "mediocre", because i know it's true.


End file.
